Characters galore at fifth-annual Zombie Crawl

YOUNGSTOWN — Elvis was there, in the flesh. Well, what little flesh there was left of him, anyway.

So were Beetlejuice, the Phantom of the Opera, Morticia Addams, a host of wedding parties, crew members from the Starship Enterprise and enough soldiers, cowboys, cops, bikers and construction workers to make up a couple of scary versions of The Village People.

They were among the throng who turned out tonight to take part in the fifth-annual Youngstown Zombie Crawl, which included stops at 16 venues in and around the downtown area.

Folks infatuated with the undead showed up in their bloodiest, most flesh-eaten finery to prowl the streets in search of, well, good food and lots of drinks. The attention from outsiders was a big draw, too.

“The show of it is awesome,” said 34-year-old Amy Rigby of Youngstown, explaining why she has participated in every Youngstown Zombie Crawl, as well as traveling to similar events in Columbus, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. “The looks we get from people who line the streets to watch are awesome.”

For the complete story, read Sunday's Vindicator and Vindy.com